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Water Street Landing: Good Eats on the Lewiston Waterfront

Last Saturday, our first in June, was a gorgeous, sunny day here in Buffalo. Gem and I had made plans to spend it with our mutual friend, the Marine. If you know anything about the fickle Buffalo weather, you know enough to take advantage of those perfect, warm days. But what to do on such a lovely day? Marine had a great idea – let’s head up to Lewiston. I met Marine at his house and then we swung over to Gem’s apartment to pick her up. What might seem like a long-ish drive to Lewiston went by quickly with good company. We took the route along the water and I was jealous watching all the folks boating out on the river. Did I mention that it was a perfect day? We didn’t spend any time in Lewiston proper as I had a very important appointment with a Bloody Mary, but I always liked the area. It’s one of those great All-American towns that has preserved its heritage and tries to keep out the corporate clutter. The little shops and restaurants are fun to explore, and I hope to make it back up to do so before the summer is out. A few years ago I did a haunted tour of historic Lewiston around Halloween which was a lot of fun– so maybe it’ll be more than one trip back up in the coming months. Once in Lewiston, Marine headed straight to Water Street Landing which sits on the crest of a hill overlooking the gorge. We hung out on the back patio at the side bar facing the Niagara River. I got my much-needed Bloody Mary, and let me tell you, it was one of the best I’ve ever had. It was thick, spicy, and full of flavor. I spotted red pepper and what I think was crushed coriander in it along with the usual Bloody Mary ingredients. It was good and strong too, so I ended up sipping on it through dinner. Looking straight down from the patio at the riverbed is one of the launch stations for Whirlpool Jet Boating. Now that is something that’s on my “Must-Do List” for this summer. It looked like a blast! I enjoyed just watching them, drink in hand, from our perch. The atmosphere at Water Street Landing is what I like to call classy-casual. Gem and I wore sundresses, and Marine had on jeans and nice tee-shirt. We weren’t overdressed or underdressed for the patio area. It had that let’s-sit-outside -and-soak-up-the-sun feeling without crossing into the beach-bum-patio-party feeling. It’s classy, but not stuffy. The inside dining area is more formal, but on a day like we had, who would want to be inside? Though it was pretty crowded, we only had a 15 minute wait for a table. Not bad at all. Naturally, we kicked the meal off with a plate of wings. Their “medium” was a little weak for me, but then again, I’m a girl who usually orders her wings “hot” and is rarely fazed. They had a great flavor. We ordered them extra crispy, and they did come extra crispy. There are few things worse than soggy wings in my book. Points to Water Street for fulfilling all of my not-soggy expectations. Here’s where we really did this place right: we shared everything that we ordered. That way, we each got to try a little bit of everything. I went with the Bavarian Burger – topped with Guinness caramelized onions, grain mustard, and pepper jack cheese on a pretzel roll – with a side of sweet potato fries. Which of course was delicious. The roll was super soft, not hard like some pretzel rolls I’ve had, but definitely still pretzel-y. One of my biggest pet-peeves is when sweet potato fries come without the requisite honey for dipping and you have to ask for it. Water Street had that covered though- so points for them on that too. Gem got the Santa Fe Burger with onion rings. It had black beans on which I’ve recently grown a fondness for so that was a nice touch. It also had a bit of a kick with being overdone and ruining the other flavors going on. Marine went with the Island Burger which was topped with mango salsa and a lime-yogurt sauce and a side of hash-brown-style potato patties. I’m not a fan of mango, but the lime-yogurt sauce was a really good twist. The patties were delicious, but I don’t think I’ve ever met a fried potato that I didn’t like. I do have one and only one complaint… Gem tried my fabulous Bloody Mary and loved it so much that she ordered one herself. When hers arrived, it was completely different– watery, no spices, not even a lemon. It didn’t even look like the same drink. We should have said something, but instead she just didn’t drink it. Since we didn’t say anything, I’ll let it slide assuming that if we had said something, they would have fixed it. It was certainly the type of classy place that would have apologized and corrected it if we’d spoken up. We didn’t give them the opportunity to do so, so I won’t hold it against them. After dinner, we walked down to the waterfront and walked along the river. The walk was beautiful and we enjoyed watching the all boaters. There was a wedding party taking photographs at the water which is always sweet to watch as well. I’m glad they had such a gorgeous day! We walked over to where another restaurant was overhanging the hill. It was called The Silo, and I’d like to go back and try it. They had a sign advertising that they’d been featured on “Man vs. Food”. Well, wait until they see Buffalo Girl vs. Food. Anyway, this is where we cut back up the hill to head to the truck. And inspiration struck: “Do you know what would be perfect right now…” I didn’t even have to finish my sentence because there it was: a red caboose. Now, if you are a brilliant, observant, foodie like me, you know precisely what it means when you see a red caboose. Ice Cream. We each got a dish of our favorite good ol’ Perry’s Ice Cream. No sharing this time! Piece of Cake for me, Cake Batter for Gem, and Red Velvet for the Marine. Yum! We sat on the patio area outside The Silo and finished off a great, relaxing day. All in all, Water Street Landing was an excellent choice – not that Marine would ever steer us wrong. The view was spectacular, the atmosphere was laid-back, and the food was delicious. My Bloody Mary was killer. Having great friends who were willing to share meant I was able to try a good variety of what Water Street offers. I got a good feel for their style, and I can say that I would definitely go back. I’d love to try the more formal dining room too. I’d recommend this place to anyone. And it’s hard to go wrong with a little red caboose around the corner. – Buffalo Girl